


Rivalry

by orphan_account



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Childish Banter, F/M, Humor, Old Friends, Rivalry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-17
Updated: 2018-06-17
Packaged: 2019-05-24 13:40:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14955713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: In which Kali visits Hawkins and has a little trouble getting along with El's most special friend.





	Rivalry

**Author's Note:**

> I'm really not funny but I think I am. This is a good reflection of that.

Eleven woke up feeling ecstatic. Not only was it the first day of Mike's summer vacation, but her old friend Kali from Chicago was coming to visit Hawkins. She had been counting down to this day since she first heard the news thirty-seven days prior. 

"Is it time to go yet?" she anxiously asked Hopper, who had reluctantly agreed to drive her to meet Kali.

"Yeah, kid. Just give me a minute to-" he said. He meant to explain that he needed to find his hat, but El cut him off when she pushed past him to get to the door.

The two jumped into Hopper's truck and headed out to meet Kali. But, before they could get to their final destination, they had to stop at the Wheeler house to pick up Mike. El wanted him to meet Kali, and he agreed since she had already spoken so much about her anyway.

When they reached the Wheeler house, Mike climbed into the backseat of the truck, still a little groggy from the all-nighter he tried to pull with the party on the last day of school. At this point, they were only minutes away from their final destination, and the excitement showed in El's body language. She couldn't help but bounce around in her seat, with a huge grin spread across her face. She had dreamed of this day for what she perceived to be a long time.

As they pulled onto the road that led to the park, El spotted Kali sitting on a bench, waiting for her arrival. El reached for Hopper's arm to get his attention, causing him to swerve onto the wrong side of the road. He quickly swerved back to his previous path, and reprimanded her for putting them all in danger.

"Jane!" Kali shouted as El jumped out of the truck.

El ran toward her old friend and jumped into an embrace. Mike followed her out of the truck, and stood behind her awkwardly. He cleared his throat to announce his presence after the two held the embrace long enough to make him begin to feel jealous.

"Hello," Kali said, reaching out to shake his hand. "You must be Mike."

"Yes, and you must be Kali," he said, refusing the handshake and instead nodding his head slightly.

Kali shook off the rejection and turned to El.

"Well, Jane, we've got a lot to catch up on, don't we?" she said, linking arms with her.

El nodded, heading forward to walk around the path that circled the park. Mike followed closely, like a third wheel, and listened to them talk.

"I hear you will be starting school next year," Kali said. At the mention of school, Mike perked up, thinking that was his invitation to join the conversation.

"Yes, we both had to beg Hopper for weeks to get him to agree," he said, poking his head between them.

Kali looked back at him for a moment.

"You must be excited to finally have a normal life," she said, turning back to El. "I'll tell you what, I will visit again next summer, and then I want you to tell me what it is like to have normal friends!"

Mike felt personally attacked by that statement.

"Well, she already has normal friends. Right, El?" he said.

Before El could say anything, Kali quickly changed the subject with:

"Do you often visit this park? It seems like a lovely place to hang out."

"Well," El began, but was soon cut off by Mike changing the subject again.

"Remember that time you brought waffles to the picnic with my mom, and the priceless look on her face when she saw you eat them while they were still frozen."

"I have waffles at my hotel if you would like to go there and have some breakfast," Kali said, still not giving El a chance to speak.

"I brought waffles with me in my bag!" Mike said, trying to one-up Kali. Although, both of them were bluffing - Hopper was the only one who really had waffles.

At this point, Mike and Kali were just shouting inaudible sentences at each other back and forth. El had stepped away to observe them for just a moment. She wasn't sure whether she though the situation was hysterical, or if she was upset that they didn't get along.

"Stop!" she shouted, finally making up her mind. She used her powers to push them away from each other. "Why are you fighting for my attention? I wanted to spend time with both of you today."

Kali and Mike looked at each other, and then back at El. They had both been acting immature, fighting like it was the election of 1800. 

"I'm sorry, El," Mike said first, then looked to Kali, indicating that is was her turn to apologize.

"I am sorry," she said, keeping one eye on Mike.

"Don't say that to me," El said. "Say it to each other."

The two looked at each other. They stayed silent for a moment.

"Say you are sorry to each other!" El repeated.

"I'm sorry I got jealous," Mike said first to Kali.

"It is alright," Kali said. "And I am sorry that I tried to push you away. I suppose I was just afraid the Jane would forget I was here if she got distracted by you. She talks very highly of you, you know."

"She talks highly of you too, though," Mike said.

As the two began to bond with each other over their common interest in El, El walked away unnoticed, and went to Hoppers truck. She remembered that he had brought Eggos for her to eat on the way, but she had been too distracted before to care. Now, as she watched her two best friends finally get along, she sat with Hopper and ate her breakfast.


End file.
